A Captive's Recollection
by fadedsolitude28
Summary: An innocent captive is frequently abused for disobeying her master, the crazed harlequin, Kefka. After a particularly brutal beating, a stranger appears. A proud tyrant offering her a chance at a better life in his service, but what the innocent girl does not know is that he has a dark and secret agenda of his own.


**A Captive's Recollection**

**Chapter 1**

**A Harlequin's Punishment**

Pain. Unbearable pain is all that I feel, as I lay on the cold floor, staring up at the rust colored ceiling with dull, blue eyes. I am surrounded by large, empty vats and pods. The scene feels familiar, but I cannot place it within my current memory.

_He_ is beating me, again. Torturing me because I refuse to obey. The enchantment he once used to bend me to his will has weakened, and I am regaining control of myself, much to his outrage.

I stare up at his painted face and into his crazed, wrinkled eyes, while he casts another torturous spell, laughing like a maniac as he does it. He curses, spits, and berates me with fury and venom saturating each word. I search his irises for any trace of sanity, but I have yet to find any.

Like the vats in the room, his face is strangely familiar, as well as his mad and screeching voice. It feels somewhat like deja vu. Do I know this mad harlequin? Have we met somewhere before, long ago? Ever since I awoke in this gloomy, foreign world, I cannot recall a single thing about my life prior. The same is true for almost everyone else I have encountered in this place, including my current abuser.

He clearly enjoys every ounce of agony he extracts from me. I taste blood in my mouth, and I feel its warmth leaking from other places, where my skin has split open. The pain is so intense, I can barely feel it anymore. I ask myself why he does this to me, but I can never come up with an answer. I _would_ ask him, if my voice heeded me, but the result would probably prove it unwise.

The hours pass slowly, before he finally grows tired of me.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, my precious toy! When I tell you to kill someone, I expect you to do as I say!" I hear him scold. His floating, colorful form is all but a blur to my wounded self.

Even after he leaves in a whirl of magic and smoke, I can still hear his hateful laughter. For quite a few minutes, I listen to it echo in the far reaches of the room, as I lay flat on the floor, quivering silently through all the throbbing pain.

Time is a hard thing to measure in this world of frozen imitations, but I perceive it to already be late in the afternoon. I try to move, to stand, but the mad clown's spell, still, has too strong of a hold on me. I groan and collapse back onto the ground, stained in my own blood.

As I lay petrified and in searing agony, I feel a tear escape my eye and slide down my cheek to my ear.

Oddly, a small smile blooms on my soft, pink lips. The tear's wet kiss is proof that the clown's hex is truly weakening. Before, I was not capable of things such as weeping. I was a soulless doll, a killing machine, used for murder. Under his control, I could see and think within myself, but I could not prevent my spellbound body from committing heinous crimes at his beck and call.

A presence entering the chamber drags me from my thoughts. It is powerful and sinister, but strangely, different from Kefka.

I hear slow, measured footsteps echo, coming nearer to my supine form. My blue eyes dart around the dimly lit room wildly, searching for my new visitor. Louder and louder, the steps come, before the sound suddenly and completely ceases directly before my body. I still see nothing, but I can feel the gaze of a stranger looking down upon me. I lick my lips and struggle to clear my throat.

"I-Is someone there?" I call out hoarsely and barely audible. Fear grips my heart, as I receive no response. It is the first words I have spoken in ages outside of the indecipherable groans and moans of pain and refusal the insane harlequin forces from my lips.

A few more quiet minutes drift by, before I hear a rustle of clothing and a light clatter of, what I figure to be, armor. My breathing quickens, and suddenly, I feel a hand gently caress my battered arm. Terror seeps into my veins, and I try to pull myself away from this unseen phantom, but my body painfully denies me mobility.

"Shh...you need not strain yourself, my dear. I have not come to harm you," a voice, deep and smooth, reassures startling and comforting me simultaneously, perhaps, it is because it confirmed to me it was not Kefka returned to continue torturing me.

I feel his long fingers begin to soothingly run through my wavy, blonde hair marred with dried blood, causing my scalp to tingle. I sigh and close my eyes, as my body relaxes.

"I wondered where all those screams were coming from. So, this is what Kefka enjoys doing to his most-valued plaything. How _wasted_ you are on him," the strange man comments while abandoning my hair to lightly skim his fingers over my other fresh wounds.

I cringe at the new sensations of pain and open my mouth to cry out, but only a soft whine escapes my dry throat.

"Shh...shh," he coos, again, while lightly stroking my pale, bruised cheek. My body suddenly feels warm, as a green, sparkling, glow engulfs me and illuminates the room in its healing light. The gashes, punctures, burns, and bruises all vanish along with all the pain and agony they caused.

Clarity returns to my eyes with the absence of the pain, and I turn to him. I am surprised by what I see.

A man, tall and proud-looking, is kneeling beside me. His hair is long and blond, his skin is pale, and his eyes are violet and calculating with black and crimson eyeliner accenting them. Ornate golden armor with a black breastplate decorated with ivory stripes tracing his upper ribcage clothed his body, and a crown of gilded horns with a purple serpent amidst them rested atop his head.

He seems somewhat familiar, too, but less so than the insane jester.

He must have noticed my staring, for he quickly stood and gave me an elegant bow.

"Apologies, my lady, it seems I have neglected to introduce myself," he states with his violet eyes still on mine.

"My name is Emperor Mateus Palamecia, but do not worry yourself with titles. You may call me simply Mateus," he introduces before kneeling, once more, and capturing my frail hand in his gloved one.

"Y-You're an...E-Emperor?" I mutter weakly in surprise, as he brings his lips to lightly kiss the skin above my knuckles. I divert my blue eyes, as a touch of warmth paints my cheeks.

"Yes, but not of this world, unfortunately," he responds as he gently lays my hand back down onto the floor. My eyes flicker back up to his, as a question that has been swimming around in my mind manages to make its way to the tip of my tongue.

"W-Why have you helped me?" I inquire weakly while watching his purple-painted lips stretch into a charming smile.

"I find you very interesting, and I feel you are squandered on that _pathetic_ jester. He wastes your unique abilities and power on meaningless destruction, and as your master, he offers you nothing. It saddens me to see such talent utilized in pointless battles then tossed aside," he explains as I feel a pang in my heart at the truth in his words.

"You know I speak the truth. I see the pain and emptiness in your eyes. Forsake your old and pitiful master and come with me. Unlike Kefka, I don't torture my servants for mere entertainment, and I _always_ reward those who are loyal and obedient to me," he suddenly proposes while allowing his hand to gently caress my arm, again, igniting goosebumps on my skin.

"I-I can't...He would find me...He would find us both, and a fate worse than death would be all that awaited us," I respond as I hear him chuckle in amusement.

"It is obvious you have no idea as to what _I_ can do. That trifling buffoon poses no threat to someone of _my_ caliber. I can protect you from him and train you to strengthen and better control your powers. Spend a week with me, and you will never have to fear his kind, again," he offers while slipping a finger beneath my chin bringing my face nearer to him, as he hovered above me, still kneeling beside my supine body.

"_Hmm_?" he purrs in inquisition deep within his throat. It is a seductive sound the elicits a jolt of fear as well as a strange needy longing down my spine. Another blush floods my cheeks, as his alluring violet eyes glance down at my nervously trembling lips. His painted lips, again, stretch into a devilish smile, as he purposely and teasingly closes the distance between our mouths, until no more than a centimeter was all that separates us.

I gasp and attempt to turn my flushed face away from him, but his strong grip on my chin does not allow for it.

"I _did_ mention my most loyal and obedient servants are rewarded, did I not?" he questions, his voice deep and full of promises. I nod silently feeling slightly entranced by this strange and enticing man. I can feel his breath against my skin, warm and sweet like an expensive wine.

"I can assure you that I do not disappoint," he adds allowing his sharp fingers to teasingly brush the exposed skin of my throat. Suddenly, I feel slightly confused and light-headed. What exactly is he offering me, again?

I shiver and shake my head, as I attempt to pull my head away, again. This time he allows me to.

"I-I'm sorry...but I...just can't," I shakily respond fearing to look up into his eyes. I flinch, when I hear him sigh. Fearing the same crazed response normally received from Kefka, I close my blue eyes tightly, but instead of searing pain tearing my flesh apart, I feel warm lips gently press against my forehead. My body relaxes and I feel a small tear slide down my hot cheek.

He rises and looks down at me with with calculating eyes and a small smile on his lips. I gaze up at him confused. Why's he standing? 

"I am afraid I must leave you, now, my lady. I sense _your master_ is returning," he reveals as my face pales and my heart drops into my stomach.

Panic seeps into me, as I manage to turn my head and watch him walk away from me. My breathing quickens, and I want to sit up and beg him not to leave me alone with my torturer, that murderous clown.

He must have sensed my rising terror, for he paused and turned, once more, to look at me.

"Do not worry, I will visit you, again and soon. You will find that when I want something, I do not give up so easily," he informs before giving me a slight nod.

"Farewell, _for now_," he adds before vanishing into thin air, as if he were never there to begin with. I feel hot tears uncontrollably begin to stream down my face, as I stare into the air where he once stood.

"_Please_...don't go," I whisper before a whirl of wind gusts throughout the chamber, causing me to close my weeping eyes tightly. I role over onto my side and bury my face into my hands. _He_ has returned. My master and tormenter, the mad harlequin, Kefka.

"Papa's home! I hope you're not still mad at me, my dainty, little flower of destruction!" he screeches before he bursts into an insane fit of cruel laughter.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
